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17 Key Cinematic Influences On Stranger Things

Credit where credit's due for Matt and Ross Duffer: together, they've created one of the most purely entertaining shows of the year so far, despite having no major credits to their name before now (save for some shorts and a few episodes of Wayward Pines). Now, with Stranger Things, the brothers are set to become Hollywood big shots - already, their supernatural Netflix original is proving a runaway success with both critics and audiences.

5) John Hughes

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Like John Carpenter, John Hughes is all over Stranger Things, even if no specific movies of his can be said to influence the plot in any deep way. Generally Hughes-like characters dominate Jonathan and Nancy’s storylines: there’s the outcast (Jonathan) pining for the good girl in the bad crowd (Nancy), and a group of cartoonish jocks, the charismatic leader of whom (Steve) is gradually revealed to have secret hidden layers.

Hughes’ presence is felt elsewhere, too. There’s a cheesy makeover scene for Eleven, where she’s turned from feral child to apple in Will’s eye, and a few heartfelt confessionals that seem to draw from the likes of The Breakfast Club. Meanwhile, the Hughes-penned Home Alone plays a key part in one episode – Chapter Eight – as Jonathan, Nancy and Steve set home made traps in the Byers residence to neutralize the Demagorgon.